Stephen Harper and the House of Pork

If there is an enduring image of Stephen Harper's grotesque regime I suppose it will be something like that one.

A lot of Con hogs heading for the trough, or trying to buy an election.

And sticking the rest of us with the bill.



For this is yet another porky scandal.

A new report shows that for every dollar the Conservative government budgeted for its marquee job-training program, it spent 53 cents advertising it in the first year.

Newly released details of the previous government's 2014-15 advertising budget show that spending on ads linked to the economic action plan outpaced any other campaign.

And who can forget the Canada apprentice loan program?

The loan program, first announced in the 2014 budget, was estimated to cost $12.6 million annually in the first two years. But government forecasts pegged the overall cost of the program at $7.4 million a year over a decade — meaning the first year of advertising might have wound up costing nearly as much as the net cost of a single year of loans.

The one that cost so much, and disappointed so many?



The one that was accused of fraud.

The NDP complained to the Advertising Standards Canada about the ads in early 2015, arguing they were misleading. The TV voiceover said that over "the next decade, one million skilled tradesmen and women will be needed to keep Canada's growing economy strong."

The New Democrats argued the number was not supported by any independent statistics or estimates.

And who can forget this ad that had to be pulled off the air for the same reason?



But not before leaving the stench of pork in the air.

You know, Stephen Harper was actually spotted in Parliament the other day, for the amount of time it took to vote for this bill:

That, given this time of economic uncertainty, the House: (a) recognize the importance of the energy sector to the Canadian economy and support its development in an environmentally sustainable way; (b) agree that pipelines are the safest way to transport oil; (c) acknowledge the desire for the Energy East pipeline expressed by the provincial governments of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, and New Brunswick; and (d) express its support for the Energy East pipeline currently under consideration.

Which appropriately enough was introduced by Candice Bergen...



Because she used to flog porky cheques with the best of them...



But the questions that should haunt us all are how did that Hog government get away with so much?

How low did they drag us before we sent them packing?

Why aren't they being investigated?

And why is their foul leader not in prison?



Because in any other decent country that's exactly where he would be. For turning the public purse into a sow's purse, and trying to buy an election in such a grotesque and blatant manner. 

The Trudeau government should use this scandal and others as an excuse to call an inquiry into the activities of the Con regime.

So we can find out what other porky crimes they may have committed.

And send them all to the place they  belong...

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